Newsletter No. 9

CUHK Newsletter University News Vi ce-Chance l l or Honoured Prof. Charles K. Kao has recently been conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK in recognition of his scientific achievements in the field of optoelectronics and optical communication. Previous Hong Kong recipients of the same award include Sir Run Run Shaw and Prof. Ma Lin, former vice-chancellor of this University. Prof. Kao received the honour from the Chancellor of the University of Sussex at the university's summer graduation ceremony held on 17th July in Brighton. H K ' s First Laparoscopic ——Cholecystectomy —— The first case of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Hong Kong was performed successfully in June by a team of doctors from the Department of Surgery of the University at the Prince of Wales Hospital. A 41-year-old man with gallstones had his diseased gall bladder removed through his umbilicus without having his abdomen cut open. Laparoscopy (looking through a telescope inside the abdomen) has been in use for some years. However, combining this procedure with cholecystectomy (removal of the gall bladder) is a recent innovation. In laparoscopic cholecystectomy, the surgeon inserts a laparoscope through the umbilicus. A television camera is attached to the laparoscope to give a view inside the abdomen. Surgical instruments are then inserted through small puncture holes in the abdomen to dissect the gall bladder, which in turn is removed through the umbilicus. The operation on the patient, who has been suffering with gallstones for over ten years, was carried out successfully under general anaesthesia by Dr. Sydney S.C. Chung and his team. The patient was able to get out of bed by himself that same evening, and he was eating normally and walking around without pain the next day. He returned to normal activities one week after the operation. Laparoscopic cholecyslectomy is a major advance in the treatment of gall bladder diseases. Its introduction in Hong Kong will mean that patients with gall stones can have their bladders removed with less pain, less scarring and less time off work. The Chinese University will be holding workshops in the near future to teach other surgeons who wish to learn this new technique. Qu a l i t y Assurance Programme at the Prince of Wales Hospi tal To promote high standards of clinical practice and patient safety, the Faculty of Medicine recently introduced a clinical quality assurance programme at the Prince of Wales Hospital. 'Quality assurance' means an ongoing review of the quality of patient care. The objective is to monitor, assess, compare and ultimately improve standards of professional medical care. The programme is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and involves holding regular mortality and morbidity meetings; keeping statistics of clinical work; reporting, documenting and evaluating incidents whereby patient care has been compromised; and management reviews in which good care is noted and bad care criticized. To carry out the quality assurance programme, the Faculty of Medicine has appointed a Faculty Quality Assurance Committee to review the programmes of all the clinical departments. Each clinical department will have its own quality assurance committee responsible for coordinating the programme in the department. 6

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